Lock for carrying cases



Sept. '2 .1924.

J. B. HOLDEN LOCK FOR CARRYING CASES Filed Feb. 3 1923 I5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTUF WTTNEIEEEE Hi5 ATTORNEY J. B. HOLDEN LOOK FOR CARRYING CASES 3 2 m w m Ll 1v- 4 b e F d e l 1 F WITNEEEE INVENTUR H15 AT-TD Sept. 2 1924. 1,507,355

J. B. HOLDEN LOCK FOR CARRYING CASES Filed Feb. 3 1923 3 Sheets-Shoot 3 INVENTUFQ WITNESSES Hi5 ATTURNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH B. HOLDEN, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO REMINGTON TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF IL-ION, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LOOK FOR CARRYING CASES.

Application filed February 3, 1923.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JosEPI-I B. HOLDEN, citizen of the United States, and resident of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks for Carrying Cases, of which the following is as'pecificat'on.

My invention relates to looks for carrying cases.

The immediate and specific object of the invention is to provide an improved lock especially for the carrying case of a portable typewriter, but the invention 01' some of its features may have a wider appl'cation than to that specific use.

One object of the invention is to provide in locks of the general class indicated, means whereby said locks are very conveniently manipulated but so designed as to be strong and serviceable and with a minimum liabil ty of becoming accidentally released, thus allowing the carrying case to come open. To this end I have provided what may perhaps be called a doublesafeguard against accidental opening of the case but so .devised as to be easily opened whenit is desired to do so, and so devised, that in the act of closing the case both of the safeguarding devices referred to work automatically to allow the keeper to enter the lock and to be doubly or tr ply secured there. The lock also includes novel devices whereby it can be locked with a detachable key so that no accidental or even intentional operation of the exposed parts of the lock can release it. The lock is extremely simple in its construction and it is also ine):- pensive to manufacture, notwithstand'ng' in use it has the advantages above referred to and others.

To the above and other ends 11 y invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations and arrangements of devices all of which will be fully set forth herein and particularly pointed out in the claims.

' One embod ment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the lock with fragments of the carrying case shown broken away.

' Figure 2 is a similar View but in section on the line 22 of Fig. that is to say,

Serial No. 616,839.

in section just inside the front plate of the casing of the lock. In this figure the carrying case is closed and latched and also locked by a detachable key.

Figures 3 and 4 are rear views partly in section on the line 34t of Fig. 5 and looking in the direct'on of the arrows at said line. In Fig. 3 the parts are in the same position as in Fig. 2 but in Fig. 4 the key operated lock is unlocked, the carrying case is partly open and the remaining parts are in the normal posit on they naturally assume under those conditions.

Figure 5 is a front and rear section on the off-set line 55 of Fig. 3 with the parts including the detachable key in the same positions as in said Fig. 3.

Figure 6 s a section on the line 63 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction. of the arrows at said line, the parts being in the same position as in Fig. 3.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4 and look'ng in the direction of the arrows at said line. the hasp being shown in its elevated or rel-eased position.

Figure 8 is a view similar to a portion of 5 but on a larger scale and showing a modification to provide for the use of a flat key 'nstead of a round key.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary face view of a portion of Fig. 8. Figure 10 is a face view on a smaller scale than the other drawings'of the fiat key, part of which is shown in Fig. 8.

Figure 11 is a perspective view'of the base plateof the carrying case with the typewr ter mounted on'it and the cover separated from the base.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of parts of the locking devices separated from one another. v

Figures 13 and 14 are'side elevations partly in section showing the carrying case standing on end and closed in Fig. 13 but not quite closed in Fig. 14.

The drawings show the locking devices substantially as they are used in the carrying caseof the Remington portable typewriter. This case comprises a flat base 11 to which the portable typewriter- 10 is sccured-and which when the machine is in use is adapted to lie flat on the table or desk (Fig. 11). The carrying case includes also a detachable cover 12 including a top and. four sides, the fragment shown in Figs. "l

and 5 being the front side as the machine lies on the desk, or the upper side or edge when the machine is being carried by hand, this particular side having a leather handle 9 of the sort common in carrying cases or similar receptacles. The cover 12 has at its back or rear side certain metal fixtures 8 having recesses which, when the cover is in place, are entered by certain interlocking prongs'7 on the base 11, so that at the time when the lock is in use theback part of the cover is secured to the base 11 in a manner somewhat similar toa hinge. It will be seen that the cover comes down around the edges of the base 11, which at the middle of its forward part has a plate 13 secured thereto by a suitable number of rivets 1 1, said plate, as perhaps best shown in Fig. 1, having a keeper 15 projecting upward therefrom, said keeper as here shown being fastened to the plate 13 by riveting at 16, Figs. 2 and 5. The cover 12 has a rectangular cutout therein to accommodate the lock case 17 the outline of which'may be seen for example in Fig. 2 and cross sections of which are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This casing is in the nature of a shallow sheet metal box with four sides bent up from'its base, which base rests against a flat plate 18 considerably larger than the case 17 'to which it is secured in any suitable manner as by spot welding or soldering. The case 17 has a cover plate 20 secured to it by means of lugs 21, 3 and 4:, extending upward from the side plates of the casing 17 into suitable openings or notches in the cover plate 20 and riveted. Thiscover plate 20 extends upward beyond the upper wall of the casing 17, and its upper edge as well as ears from its sides are bent backward to form walls 22 which, together with the upper wall ofthe casing plate 17', enclose along rectangular space, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. The

' whole construction is such that the casing has in effect two compartments, a main compartment and the auxiliary compartment just described. i I

The plate 18 to which. the lock case is welded or soldered is secured on the frontend wall of the typewriter cover 12 by means of rivcts"23,'whichrivets pass through said cover as best shown in. Fig. 6, and secure also in place another plate 24 so that the two plates 18 and 24 are riveted together one on'th'e outside and the other on the inside of the wall-of the cover 12. The plate 18 is bent backward at its lower edge so as to close the lower edge of the cover and it has ears 19 bent up behind the plate 2 1 to bind the edges together. The bent-back partof the plate 18 has in it a suitable opening 25, Fig. 8. through which when the parts are in the closed position shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 13, the keeper 1'5projects into the lock case.

1 the stern of Saidkeeper is formed with a hook 26, Fig. 4:, with its under face abrupt and its upper face inclined and when the carrying case is closed as shown in-Fig'. 5 this hook is engaged by a hook 27,011 a catch-28 mounted to slide right and left in the casing'17 and pressed into engagement with the hook 26- by means of a suitable spring 30. The hoole 27 is abrupt on itsupper edge and inclined on its lower edge so that in the act of clos ing the carrying case the catch 23 will be first cammed to the left in Fig. 2and will then snap back into engagement with the keeper 15 and retain'the parts in sition.

The catch 28is manually operated by means of a button 31 lying against the front face of the plate 18 and'the stem of which passes through a slot 32 in said plate 18 and in the casing plate 17, the stem atits inner end being riveted into the catch 23. Said catch is released by sliding this button toward the left in Figs. 1 and 2. The sliding motion of the catch may be limited bythe button 31' encountering the ends of the slot 32 or otherwise.

The sliding catch 28 is guided partly by closed pothe button 31 and partly by a bracket or I partition 33 consisting of a piece of sheet metal riveted'into the base of the casing plate 17 andhaving acutout part overlying the thin right-hand end portion of the catch 28 so that said portion of said catch is constrained to slide between the bracket locking position in the former and in its unlocking position in the latter figure. At their left-hand end portions (right ends in Figs. 3 and' l) both this locking plate and the catch 28 are wide enough in an up and down direction to be guided by the upper and lower walls of the casing 17. The horizontal part of the bolt 34 has in it arc-shaped cutout 35 for co-operation with the bit 36 of a removable key 37, which key can be inserted through an ordinary key hole 38 and co-operates with an ordinary pivot pin 10. the latter riveted to the cover plate 20 of the lock case. The construction is such that by turning the key the bolt 34: can he slid to the right or to the left. Said bolt near its right-hand end (its left-hand end in Figs. 3 and 1) has a rounded lug 41 projecting from its upper edge and adapted to engage the end of'the partition plate 33 hereinbefore described. This end of the bolt is pressed upward against the end 'of said partition plate by a wire spring 42 sethe usual cured at one end to the bolt 34 and at its other end pressed against the casing 17, the free end of said spring being guided by a suitable lug or partition plate 43 riveted into the casing for the purpose. When the bolt is in its unlocking position shown in Fig. 4 the partition 33 is engaged by one side of the lug 41 to hold said bolt in its said unlocking position, the motion of the bolt in that direction being limited by a heel or lug 44 projecting into position to be arrested by the casing 17. hen the key is turned clockwise in Fig. 4 the first action is to depress the free end of the bolt against the pressure of the spring 42 after which the bolt is slid to the left in Fig. 4 and is again pressed upward until the lug 41 engages the other side of the plate as shown in Fig. 3. The motion of the bolt in this direction is limited by a lug 45 thereon engaging the partition 33 as shown in Fig. 3. The bolt is held against sliding toward the left in Fig. 3 by the engagement of the partition 32) with the lug 41, said lug being in effect hooked over the end of said partition.

In order for the bolt 34 when in the position shown in Fig. 3 to lock the catch 28' against releasing movement said bolt has at its upper part at the right in Fig. 3 a lug 46 bent off therefrom behind the catch 28 so that said catch cannot be slid to releasing position. It will be noted that this lug is so located that pressure on it tends to tilt the freeend of the bolt 34 upward into firmer engagement with the partition 33. 1 hen the bolt 34 is in its Fig. 4 position this lug 46 is so far removed from the catch 28 as to allow the latter to be operated by hand to release the keeper 15. It will be noted that the motion of the bolt 34 to locking position is in the same general direction as that of the catch 28 to latching position. It results that ii, for any reason. the spring 30 fails to snap said catch to latching position, the bolt when operated by the key will itself operate said catch and then lock it.

In order to provide for suitably blocking the key 37 in case of said key being turned in the wrong direction when the parts are in the Fig. 4 position, the bolt 34 is formed on its upper edge with a notch p esenting a radial shoulder 47 against which the bit 36 of the key would strike and positively arrest the key. The action here would be to press the bolt in the general direction of the stop lug 44 without depressing the free end of the bolt.

A hasp 48 is pivotally mounted on the front of the front plate 18. This hasp is made with a square cross bar 50, Figs. 5 and 7. which passes through a sort of pivot piece or housing 51 consisting of a piece of sheet metal bent into a trough square in cross section and having lugs projecting from its edges through suitable holes in the plate 18 where said lugs may be either riveted up or bent over in order to secure the housing to the plate. Said plate has therein a transverse slot through which projects the middle portion of a bow-spring 52, the spring being curved as shown and resting against the cover plate 20 of the lock case and said spring occupying the auxiliary compartment of said case hereinbetore described and outlined by the upturned edges 22 of said plate 20. This hasp can be rocked upward or outward to the position shown in Fig. 7 which is its inoperative or unlocking position and downward to the position shown in other which is its operative or locking position; and it will be held in either of these two positions by the flat spring 52 pressing it against the flat surface of the housing 51.

In order to accentuate the action of the spring in holding the hasp in its operative position, the bar 50. may have a lug 53, Fig. 7, which widens the flat part of the hasp when in the Fig. 5 position and improves the action of the spring 52 thereon. This hasp is cut out so as to surround the keyhole 38.,

as shown in Fig. 1.

The hasp 48 is so shaped, as will be understood from Figs. 1 and 6, that when it is in its operative position it blocks the motion of the button 31 so that when said hasp is down, said button cannot be accidentally operated by the hand or any other object rubbing over it. It is necessary first to lift the hasp before the sliding catch 28 can be operated either to close or to open the carry ing case. This is a safeguard giving a valuable seeurity against the case being accidentally opened when being carried about or when packed. in a trunk or suit-case along with the, users other baggage. IVhen so packed the other objects packed with it which might perhaps tend o operate the button 31 accidentallv would be likely to prevent the raising of the hasp In addition to the safeguard just mentioned, this hasp also assists directly in retaining the keeper 15 in place. To this said hasp is provided with a pin 54 which can enter a hole 55, Fig. 4. in the plates 17 and 18 and a hole 56 in the keeper 15' so that the hasp alone when in operative position would be effective to keep the carrying case closed. The keeper is thus doubly latched in position by this pin and by the catch 28.

It is desirable that in the act of closing the carrying case the devices 23 and 54 which hold it closed shall snap automatically into engagement with the keeper 15 by a mere pressure on the cover without the operator having to manipulate either the button 31 or the hasp 48. It has already been described how the catch 23 snaps into engage ment with the keeper 15 but if other means were not provided this catch could not work figures of the drawings order to provide for the key, said a slot 62 in the plate 18. The key 63 has a said base.

if the hasp was down on account of the button 31 being blocked by the hasp 48. In

this the pin 54: is beveled on its under side as shown in Fig. :5 and the keeper 15 is beveled on its from upper edge so that when the keeper first enters the lock these two bevels coming into contact press the hasp a little outward in time to allow the button 31 to move under it so that said hasp is not only camined forward so that its pin can snap into engagement With the keeper but it is also automatically moved to position to allow the button 31 and spring catch 28' to operate. As soon as the keeper is in position both these parts immediately snap back to operative positions driven by their respective springs 30 and 52. The upper part of the pin 54 and the upper wall ofthe hole 56 in the keeper are both abrupt so that these parts do not yield to outward pressure.

It is desirable that the hasp 48 when swung forward away from its operative position be not allowed to go clear back against the front face of the covet-but always stand square out from the cover as shown in 7. To this end the housing 51 has its upper Wall prolonged to make two brackets 57 which stand in such position as to prevent the hasp from turning much beyond its upright position so that the spring 52, acting on the square edge of the lug 53 Will hold this hasp perpendicular or approximately so,- as shown in Fig. 7.

In Figs. 8, fioation of the lock to adapt it for a flat key 63 in place of the round key 37. T 0 this end a barrel or hub 60 has its reduced ends journaled in suitable holes in the plates 18, 20 and 24-, the middle part of the barrel being, enlarged to provide shoulders to prevent endivise movement. This hub is provided With the usual slot 61 for the reception of slot normally registering with bit 6a corresponding to the bit 36 of the key 37 and it has the usual projecting nib 65 on its end which enters the holes in the plates 20 and 2a. In other respects the lock is as already described.

In Fig. 11 there are shown in. perspective view the typewriter 10 mounted: on its base 11 to which it is secured firmly by any suitable means, and the cover 12 separated from The fixtures or escutclieons 8 cover notches or cutouts in he bachplate of thecover as indicated in Figs. 13 and 14 and each of these has an car 66 struck up therefrom, leaving the opening before referred to into which prongs 7 project when the case is closed. I

Figs. 13 and 14 bring out a feature of the construction. The typewriter is supposed to be fastened to the base 11 althoi'igh it is not shown in these figures. These show the tails of construction and 9 and 10 there is shown modi-' case in the upright position it occupies When carried or about to be picked up by the handle 9- In Fig. 14 the base is not quite closed into the cover and it will be noted that the keeper 15 stands a little below the opening 25 into which it is designed to enter. The base-board 11 is resting on the end plate of the cover 12. In order to close the case completely it is necessary to elevate the base board'll very slightly, lifting its Weight off of the end piece of the cover 12 as shown in Fig. 13 where it will be seen that the Weight of the baseboard 11 and of the type- Writing machine are carried by the keeper 15 so that no pulling strain is put on the cover 12 tending to pull said cover apart. This enables the cover to be made lighter and preserves it from injury due to the Weight of the ty' peivrite-r.

Various changes may be made in the dcarrangement with out departing from my invent-ion.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isf- 1. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a keeper mounted on one of the two parts to be locked together, and locking mechanism mounted on the other of said two parts, said locking mechanism com prising a spring pressed catch adapted to interlock with said keeper and having hand operated device for releasing it, and

a keep adapt-ed also to engage said keeper and also adapted when in o'-1: er'ated position to prevent manual operation of said catch.-

2. In a lock of the class described, the

combination with a keeper and a lock case into which said keeper" projects when in looking; position, of a manually operated catch in said case adapted to engage and hold said keeper, and a hasp adapted when in operated position to prevent release of I of said case havinga part also adapted to projet inside of said case and there to enand retain said keeper. 4. In a l ck "of the class described, the combination of a keeper, a lock case into which saidk'eeper is adapted to project, a catch in said case to engage and retain said keeper, manually operable means for releasing said catch, a device normally in position to block the operation of said manual device, and means whereby said keeper in. the act of movin into said case. momentarily disables said blocking deviceso-as to enable said catch to malte'the necessary movement to engage said keeper.

5. In a lockof the class described, the combination of a keeper, a lock (arsev into which said keeper is adapted to project, a spring operated catch in said case adapted to engage and retain said keeper and to be momentarily moved aside by said keeper as the latter enters the case, a devite normally preventing releasing movement of said catch, and means whereby said keeper in the act of entering said case momentarily disables said device.

6. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a keeper. a lock case into which said keeper is adapted to project, a manually releasable spring catch in said case to engage and hold said keeper, a manually releasable device outside of said casing normally blocking the release oi said spring catch, and means whereby said keeper in the act of entering said case momentarily releases said blocking device and cams said catch aside, said catch and blocking device then immediately returning to retaining and blocking position.

7. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a keeper, a lock case having therein a spring catch to engage and retain said keeper, and a hasp pivoted out-side oi said case and having a pin adapted to enter said case and to engage and retain said keeper.

8. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a keeper, a lock case having therein a spring catch to engage and retain said keeper, and a hasp pivoted outside of said case and having a pin adapted to enter said case and to engage and retain said keeper, said pin and keeper having beveled surfaces whereby said keeper on entering said lock can momentarily cam said pin out of its way.

9. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a keeper, a lock case into which said keeper is adapted to project, a manually releasable spring catch for engag ing and retaining said keeper, and a locking bolt which can be moved into and out of position to prevent releasing of said spring catch, said bolt having a motion such as to enable it to operate said catch in case the latter is not operated by its spring.

10. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a hook-shaped keeper, a lock case into which said keeper is adapted to project, a manually releasable spring pressed slide having a hook portion adapted to be cammed aside by said keeper as the latter enters the case and to snap into engagement with the hook-part of said keeper to retain the same, and a key operated locking bolt adapted to be moved by a detachable key in the same general direction as said slide into and out of position to block releasing mo vement of said hooked slide.

11. In a lock of the class described, the combination of a manually releasable sliding spring pressed catch, a co-operating de vice adapted to be engaged and secured by said catch, and a key operated slide having a lug extending into the plane of said sprin pressed slide and movable in the same general direction as said catch to two positions in one of which said lug blocks releasing movement of said spring pressed slide and in the other of which it allows such movement.

Signed at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, and State of New York, this 1st day of Feb. A. D. 1923.

JOSEPH B. HOLDEN. W'itnesses HAROLD E. MISOHLER, JosEPH J. ROTH. 

